In a university-wide event like intramurals, departments with bigger populations are heavily expected to land on the podium while smaller departments are left with no choice but to cheer from the sidelines.
Silliman University’s (SU) annual intramural features a wide array of sports. As always, the event included various individual and collaborative games that catered to student’s interest.
However, the system that has been followed with SU’s Intramurals through the years make it so that only certain departments, particularly those with a higher population, are given better chances to secure points and land a spot in the top.
Given the winners of this year’s intramurals were the exact departments from last year, it is evident that results for SU’s Intramurals have become not only limited, but predictable.
The skills and talents of the players from these departments must also be acknowledged. Yet, the problem lies not on the abilities of the participants, rather, with the point system that favors the departments who have participants in majority or all of the intramural events.
Smaller departments, on the other hand, are only able to send out participants to some sports requiring lesser players, with some players having to play two or more sports.
Meanwhile, it is a commendable feat to bring back the Cheerpop competition, finding a middle ground with the return of the cheering and modern dance competitions. However, the strict implementation of the 25-person minimum requirement hardly allows smaller departments to participate.
Nonetheless, it is important to note that this is the first iteration of the competition and, as such, there is always room for improvement. The competition’s success overshadowed the problems and whatever criticisms for the competition itself must be used to enhance the future iterations.
It is evident that beyond the competitive aspect, the heart of SU’s intramurals is with the smaller departments that do what they can to ensure that their experience is a memorable one for them, with or without a trophy in hand.
The point system and guidelines of SU’s intramurals should also consider smaller departments with lesser players. In this manner, the results won’t be expected and every department is given the chance to make their way through the leaderboard.
We urge SU to revisit this important facet of the 5 C’s and recognize that the court, the track, and the field are serious for departments with only 80 students just as those with over a thousand.
